Seaming-machine



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(N0 Model.)

lF. A. WALSH.

' SEAMING MACHINE.'

IIIIIIIIIIII Patente-May '8, 1888.

mn/eases l (No Model.) 3 sheets-sheet 2'.

F. A. WALSH.

SEAMING MAGHINB."

No. 382,572. j PatenteaMay 8, 1,888."

@IMMQQ Ummm mv/M,

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

, A1. A. WALSH.

.SBAMING MACHINE.'

Patented May 8, 1888.5lv

Inventor,

' To all whom, it may concern.-

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS` A. WALSH, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

ySEAMINCnMACHINE.

- SPECIFICATION forming part of LetterPai-.ent No.'3a2.5'72, dated May a, laca.

Application nien septembeis, 1887. seriaINo. 24am. (No model.)

Be it known that I, FRANCIS A. WALsH, of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee, and in the State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Seaming-Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and eXact description thereof.

My invention relates to machines for seaming sheet-metal vessels; and it consists in certain peculiarities of construction andjcombination of parts, to be hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings, and subsequently claimed. c I

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a front elevation, partly in section, ot' a machine em- -Lody'ing my improvements; Fig. 2, ahorizontal section on line 2 2, Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a detail sec-4 tional view showing the seaming-roll or former and the bearing for the shaft that carries said roll or former; Fig. 4, a side elevation of the machine; Figs. 5, 6, and 7, detail views of the seaming-roll or former; Figs. 8, 9, 10, l1, 12, and 13, diagram views showing the operation of the seaming-roll or former; Fig. 14, a prole View' of a cam that forms part of the machine, and Fig. 15 a modification.

Referring by letter to the drawings, A 'represents the base, and A the standard, of a seam`- ing-machine. rIhe standard is provided with bearings for a drive-shaft,B, that is geared to 'a worm-wheel, C, loose on a vertical shaft, D, that has its bearings in arms of said standard. The drive-shaft B- is provided with a pinion, B', arranged to mesh with a gear-wheel, E', feathered on a vertical spindle,.E,' that has its bearings in an arm of the standard A', and to the lower end of this spindle I adjustably sea ends or covers of sheet-metal vessels.

cure a chuck, F, in order to accommodate the machine to any slight diderences in depth that may occur in stamping the counter-sink in the v Fast on the vertical shaft D is a cam-wheel, G, vinteriorly provided with a clutch mechanism (not shown) similar to that described and illustrated in my patent, No. 321,263, dated June 30, 1885, and in my application, Serial No. 223,200,'led January 3, 1887. `By 'a downward movement of the lever II, vfulcrumed to an arm of the standard A', the clutch mechanism is operated to unite the cam-wheel G with the worm-wheel C, and this lever is returned to its normal position by a spring', I, connecting it with a shelf, A, on said standard.

The lower portion of the vertical shaft D carries a cam-'wheel, J, that is provided with a notch, b, to engage aroulette, c, on the inner end of a lever, K, the latter being fulcrumed to a bracket, L, that is suitably secured to the main standard of the machine. The camwheel G is also provided with a notch, b',to

engage a roulette, c', on the starting-lever H.

A rod, d, is designed to connect the lever Kv with a'treadle, (not showp,) and the bifurcated outer end of said leveris'connected by links c to a collar, f, suitably secured toa spin` dle, M, the latter having its bearings in arms' of the bracket L in line with the spindle E.

The upper end of the spindle M is bored out lto receive a spring, N, that is heldin a compressed-position by means'of a slotted block,

N', arranged on a pin, g, passed through it and n the spindle. v f

rIhe upper face of the block N is provided with a seat, h, for the reduced end of a stem, O', on a chuck, C).

rlhe live-spindle E has its upper end bored v out to receive the lower end 'of a stem, P, that is pivotal] y connected to a lever, Q, fulcrumed to an arm of the standard A',and provided'at its free`end with a roulette, t', the latter being arranged to impinge upon a camwheel, B, on

the upper portion of the vertical shaft D. -A

spiral spring, S, arranged on the spindle E between the gear wheel E and a collar, E2, serves to supportv said spindle and keep it up against the stem I. l

Fulcrumed to lugs j on the standard is a lever-arm, T, that carries a roulette, Vlt, ar-

ranged to travel in the camgroove m of the wheel G, and adjustably secured to the free end of this lever is a shackle,'n, to which isA pivoted the upper extremity of rod T.' 'Ihe lower extremity of the rod T' is adjustably connected to a toothed segment, U, j ournaled to the lateral and vertically-depending flange V' of a bearing, V, the latter being secured to a suitably-grooved block, Y p, on Athestandard A' by means of a l-bolt, g.

Depending from the angeV' of the bearingv V is a lug, r, that engages the innerend of an adjusting-screw, W, that has its bearing in a lug, s, on the block p, and is provided' with a hand-wheel, W'.

ICU

The toothed segment U meshes with a pinion, U', on the inner end of a shaft, X, arranged in the bearing V, andthe forward portion of this shaft is reduced, so that its outer end will come one side of the center, as best illustrated by Fig. 2. The outer end ofthe shaft X is bifurcated, and the bifurcations u u provided with openings. Theopening in the bifurcation u is screw-threaded to engage the correspondingly-formed end v of a stud or support, Y, that passes through the other bifurcation, u', vand loosely arranged on this stud or support is a seaming-roll or former, Z. The seaming-roll or former has an annular groove, w, that in my invention is at an acute angle to the axis of said roll or former; but in my machine it is possible to employ a roll or former similar to the one shown by Fig. 5, wherein the groove is at a right angle to said axis. From the groove w toward the bi fureation u of shaft X the periphery of the seaming-roll or former Z is beveled, as shown at y, while in the opposite direction it is plain, as shown at z; or it may be grooved, and the edge of the beveled portion y of said roll or former is always in line with the axis of the shaft Z. I have illustrated said roll or former as provided with an annular shoulder, y; but the latter is not absolutely essential, and may be omitted at pleasure.

In Fig. 7 I show the scanning-roll or former Z as made in sections, held together by means of keys z', and this construction may be found preferable, for the reason that I can more readily compensate for wear in the groove w.

In either the solid or sectional roll or former there is wear on the face adjacent to the bifurcation u of the shaft X, and this wear is compensated for by screwing up thestud or support Y; but in said solid roll there is no ready meahs for taking up the wear in the groove.

To take up the wear in thegroove of thesectional roll or former, the pins z' are withdrawn to disunite the sections, and the inner face of the section Z or working side w of said groove is faced or lapped and the parts again united. As shown by dotted lines, Fig. 7, the section Z2 of the roll or former Z may be held by means of a pin; or in place of this circular section I may employ a blade or point having its inner face of suitable contour, and vin either case the section Z of said roll or former may be free to revolve.

In the operation of my machine I will describe the same as working a double seam on a straight-sided vessel, (such as shown in my patent, No. 272,500, of February 20, 1883;) but it can be as readily employed for single-seaming this style of vessel; or the machine may be adj usted to doubleseam vessels that have Va laterallyprojecting flange, as in the old and well-known method of forming double seams described in Patent No. 228, 234, issued to me` June 1, 1880.

The vessel shown by Fig. 8 as ready to be seamed is placed on the lower chuck and the latter elevated by a movement of the leverK to bring said vessel against the chuck F on the live-spindle E. The vessel being chucked,

and consequently in revolution, the startiug lever H is drawn down to set the seaming mechanism in motion, and it is obvious that both the chucking and starting can be done by a movement of said lever.

For the operation of seaming,bot1i the cams J R are timed alike to cause avertical movement of the vessel; but on the completion ofa seam the time of said cams varies, for the purpose to be hereinafter described.

The distance from 8 to 1 on the cam R, as shown by the profile view Fig. 13, is equal to the time occupied in automatically chucking the vessel by actuating the starting -1ever.

From 1 to 9 the travel of the camJ causes the lever K to lift and force the vessel upward to bring the flange of the cover-piece and edge of said vessel into the groove w of the seamingroll or former Z, the roll or former being preferably beveled on one side of said groove to widen the latter at its mouth, so as to insure the engagementjust described, as well as to form a finishing-face, ma, for the purpose to be hereinafter set forth, and should vessels have a slight variance in length the spring and loose block mechanism N N will compensate for such variation. The vessel and seaming-roll or former are now in the position shown by the diagram Fig. 9. By the time the camsJ R have traveled from 1 to 9 the cani G begins to actuate the lever-arm T, that in turn actuates the toothed segment U in mesh with the pinion U on the shaft X, and the latter is rocked to turn over the single seam and bring the seaming-rollA or former to the position shown by the diagram Fig. 10, while said cams J R are traveling the distance from 9 to 10. Instead of rocking the roll or former the distance required to perform the operation just described, the mechanism may be so arranged by adjusting the shackle n as to stop the rocking motion midway between the positions shown by Figs. 9 and 10, and then withdraw said roll or former to clear the seam as it rocks back, said seam being then finished for some purposes atright angles to the vessel, as shown by Fig. 13. At the point marked 2 the cams J R drop and the vessel is automatically elevated away from the seamingroll or former, as shown by the diagram Fig. 11. The cam G is so timed that while the cams J R are j traveling the distance from 11 to 12 the seaming-roll or former will be rocked back and held in the position shown by diagram Fig. 12, to close the seam down close against the vessel; or the roll or former may be so timed as to finish on the beveled portion mi of the groove as the seam goes out of said groove.

At the point marked 3 the upper cam, R, has a drop that permits the chuck F to rise, and the shoulder y` on the seaming-roll or former serves to hold the vessel down on the lower chuck, O, the latter being stationary in a vertical direction during this operation on accouutof the cam J being horizontal and un- IIt interrupted from 11 to 13. '.[he cam G is so timed that when the vessel has been unchucked the seamingroll or former continues to rock back to its original position, and by the time the cams J R have traveled from 13 to 8 the` roulettes c c will have dropped into the notches bb to stop the machine and lower the chuck O, sothat the finished vessel may be withdrawn. While I have shown the seaming-roll or former as stationary in a vertical direction and a mechanism for bringing the vessel to and from said roll or former, it is obvious that a machine may be organized wherein the vessel would remain in one position and the roll or former moved to or from the seam at predetermined intervals.

Some mechanism is necessaryv to withdraw the roll or former from the seam upon its coinpletion at right angles to' the vessel, as described with reference to Fig. 13; and, as best illustrated in Fig. 15, I show the block p`(to which the bearing V is adjustably secured) .as pivoted to the standard A and providedwith an arm, p', that extends through a slot in said standardand carries a roulette arranged tocome against a cam, D', on the vertical shaft D, this cam being so timed as to swing said bearing in alateral direction at predetermined intervals. The mechanism just described is also employed when the machine is organized to seam vessels having a laterally-projecting 'fiange, as in the old style of double seaming described in Patent No. 228,234, above mentioned, it being necessary that the roll or former shall have a lateral movement to bring it to and from the seam at predetermined intervals.

The roll or former Z may be made of the, right diameter to suit the stock to be worked upon, or, in other words, to have the right amount of space between'it and the chuck F for the folds ofthe stock; or said roll or former may be of less diameter than would simply afford such space and have a motion toward the seam that would compress the latter firmly against the chuck. This latter operation can be accomplished by the mechanism best i1lus trated in Fig. 15, the cam D being-properly timed.

When the machine is to be used for seaming both ends to the vessel-body at one operation, the seaming mechanism is duplicated and operated to either follow said vessel or simultaneously come on and off the seams. Should the vessels be other than circular in cross-sec tion, the parts carrying the seamingroll or former would be arranged to have a lateral motion to correspond with the irregular shape of said vessels, this motion being imparted by a pattern-cam (not shown) on the shaft D.

I am aware of a machine in which a single roll (either solid or sectional) has been employed for seaming on the tops and bottoms of sheet-metal vessels, said roller being provided with a series of variously-shaped grooves and pivoted to a lever that is journaled' in bearings, one of these bearings having loose play, in order that the roll may be raised or lowered by hand at differenttimes during the process of seamingA to bring a different groove into operation, and such I do not claim'.

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim as new, and desire to secure byv at an acute angle to its axis and a linishiiigface approximately parallel to said axis, and means, substantially as described, for actuating said roll or former with relation to a vessel, whereby the operation of doubleseaming a v may be accomplished, as set forth.

3. In a machine for seaming sheet-metal vessels, a roll or former having a seaminggroove at an acute anglev to its axis, a finishing-face approximately parallel to said axis, and a shoulder at an angle to the nishing-face, and means, substantially as described, for actuating said roll or former with relation-to a vessel, whereby the'operation of seaming is accomplished, as set forth. 4. In a machine forseaming sheetmet-al vessels, a rollor former made in two sections,'said sections so constructed? and arranged that a groove at an acute angle to the axis ofthe roll or former is left between the opposing surfaces of said sections, and means, substantially as described, for actuating said roll or former with relation to a vessel, whereby the opera` IOO tion of seaming may be accomplished, as set Aforth.

5. In amachinefor seamingsheet-metal vesL v sels, a roll or former made in two sections, so constructed and arranged that a groove at an acute angle to the axis of the roll or former'is left between the opposing surfaces of the sec- OS, and means, substantially as described,

for holding one of saidsections against `'rot'al tionand for actuating said roll. or former with relation to a vessel, whereby the operation ofl seaming is accomplished, as set forth.

6. I'n a machine for seaming sheet-metal vessels, a roll or former provided with aseaniing`Y f groove and beveled on one side of this groove to form a iinishingface, and means', substantially as'described, for actuating s'aidroll o r former, whereby the operation of seaming is accomplished, as setforth.

7. In a machine for seaming sheet-metal vessels, a bifurcated rock-shaft, a stud or support yadjustable in' the bifurcation of the shaft,a

anism, a shaft, a roll or former carried by the shaft, and mechanism, substantially as described, connecting the shaft and chucking mechanism, whereby the shaft is rocked and the eliucking mechanism is reciprocatcd at predetermined intervals, as set forth.

9. In a machine for seaming sheet-metal vessels, the eombinat-ion of a chucking mechanism, a shaft provided with a pinion, a roll or former carried by the shaft, a toothed seg# ment arranged to mesh with the pinion, and suitable mechanism for actuating the segment, substantially as set forth.

10. In a machine for seaming sheet metal vessels, the combination ofa live-spindle carrying a chuck, another spindle inline with the live one and having its opposing end provided with a bore,a sp ring seated in the bore,ablock loosely arranged above the spring, a chuck having a stem that fits said bore and rests upon the block, and a scaming mechanism, substantially as set forth.

11. In a machine for seaming sheet-metal vessels, the combination of a live-spindle carrying a chuck, another spindle in line with the live one and having its opposing end provided with a bore,a spring seated in the bore, a block loosely arranged above the spring, a chuck having a stem that fits said bore and rests upon the block, mechanism for bringing the latter spindle to and from the former, and seaming mechanism, substantially as set forth.

12. In a machine for seaming sheet-metal vessels, the combination of two oppositely-arranged and movable spindles, a chuck carried by each spindle, a shaft carrying two cams having a portion thereof timed alike, a. lever mechanism connecting each spindle with one of the cams, and a seaming mechanism, sub stantially as set forth.v

13. In a machine for seaming sheet-metal vessels, the combination of two oppositely-arranged and movable spindles, a chuck carried by each spindle, a shaft carrying two cams having a portion thereof timed alike, a lever mechanism connecting each spindle with one of the cams, a shaft carrying a roll or former, a segment geared to the shaft, a lever mechanism connected to the segment, and a cam for actuating the lever mechanism, substantially as set forth.

14. In a machine for seaming sheet-metal vessels, the combination of a shaft carrying a roll or former and provided with a pinion, a toothed segment arranged to mesh with the pinion, a lever-arm, a rod adj ustably connected to the segment and lever arm, and a cam for actuating said lever-arm, substantially as set l forth.

15. In a machine for seaming sheet-metal vessels, the combination of a main standard, a block pivoted to the standard and provided with an arm, a bearing arranged on the block, a rock shaftjournaled in the bearing, a roll or former carried by the rock-shaft, and a. cam arranged to impinge against the arm of said block and move the latter on its pivot at prel determined intervals,substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand, at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, in the presence of two witnesses.

FRANCIS A. WALSH.

Witnesses:

N. E. OLIPHANT, MAURICE F. FREAR. 

